Easy Air Fryer Greek Turkey Burgers

Many people don’t enjoy turkey burgers because they are generally dry or lacking flavor, especially when compared to a juicy beef burger.

These air fryer Greek turkey burgers will change that. By cooking these burgers in the air fryer, we’re going to have incredibly juicy, delicious turkey burgers.

Each air fryer turkey burger patty is only 195 Calories, 10g Fat, 2g Carbs, and 24g Protein.

When you complete the burger with delicious toppings and a perfectly toasted brioche bun, the entire sandwich comes to only 370 calories and contains 30g of protein!

No need to step outside and brave the elements to make these air fryer burgers (unless you want to, of course). All you need is a kitchen and about 20 minutes.

 

How to make lean turkey burgers in the air fryer

It’s tough to beat a burger on the grill, but I recently found myself in the mood for burgers for dinner while it was pouring rain outside, so I was searching for an alternative.

Knowing that the air fryer makes an incredibly juicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich, I knew it would work great for turkey burgers, too.

For these air fryer turkey burgers, we’re going to make them Greek-inspired using feta cheese & spinach, but you can get creative with these and mix in any other vegetables that you’d like.

To start, microwave 4-5 cups of fresh spinach until it is cooked down. You can cook it on the stovetop as well, but I like to keep things easy, and the microwave only takes about one minute. If you’re anti-microwave, cooking the spinach down in a pan will work great.

Wrap the cooked spinach in a paper towel and squeeze out as much water as you can. Since spinach is mostly water, we want to wring out as much as possible to avoid the burgers becoming too liquidy.

Put the spinach in a large bowl and mix with crumbled feta cheese, seasonings, and 93/7 ground turkey. You can use turkey that isn’t quite as lean, or you can use 99% lean ground turkey if you prefer- both will yield delicious results.

Mix everything up with your hands until combined.

In many cases, you’ll find egg and/or breadcrumbs being worked into the ground meat mixture. While you certainly can do that, I found it unnecessary in this case.

The lean turkey is going to create a loose mixture, so don’t be surprised if you can’t form patties very easily in your hands. Don’t worry- I have a simple fix for that!

All you need to do is separate your turkey into 4 equal-sized pieces, form them into balls, then add 2 to your air fryer basket.

Within the air fryer basket, we’re going to press them down into turkey burger patties. Forming the patties inside of the air fryer rather than trying to transfer them neatly into the air fryer basket tends to make things much easuer.

These air fryer turkey burgers will take about 10 minutes to cook at 350 degrees F, but the exact time will vary based on the fat content of your turkey and the size of the burgers you make, so keep an eye on them.

Note: You can also check the turkey patties for doneness by using a meat thermometer if preferred. Turkey will be fully cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

For best results, we’ll flip the greek turkey burgers halfway to ensure both sides brown evenly.

After 10 minutes, these air fryer turkey burgers will be fully cooked through and still nice and juicy (partly thanks to the addition of the feta cheese, as well).

All that is left to do is add to your bun, throw some toppings on, and enjoy!

 

 

The best toppings for Greek turkey burgers

First and foremost, no sandwich is complete without a perfectly toasted brioche bun.

I don’t know about you, but that photo just makes my heart happy. I use brioche buns for all my sandwiches, like my Crispy Chicken Sandwich and my BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, because they are absolutely delicious!

But on top of that, the nutrition is quite favorable as well. By the looks of these buttery brioche buns, you might assume they are very high in calories, but each brioche bun is only 150 calories. I use “St. Pierre’s” brand and swear by them, but of course you can use your preferred brand.

Other than the bun, this Avocado Tzatziki Dip from Trader Joe’s is the perfect compliment to these air fryer turkey burgers. At only 25 calories for 2 tablespoons, this makes a great condiment for these Greek turkey burgers.

Regular tzatziki sauce also works extremely well, and something as simple as Greek yogurt could also make a great topping if you’re searching for a little bit of extra protein.

Fresh veggies complement turkey burgers very well, and you can choose whichever vegetables you’d like. For me, I found thinly sliced tomato, cucumber, and red onions to work perfectly.

These air fryer turkey burgers leave a lot of opportunity for creativity, so feel free to switch up those toppings.

Update: I make this recipe very often, but recently I decided that instead of forming a turkey patty I’d form them into turkey meatballs instead, and I was very happy with the result.

If you want to make meatballs from this recipe (which ends up being fantastic for meal prep) you can follow the recipe exactly as-is, but form 12 meatballs instead. The cook time and instructions will be the same!

 

What to serve with air fryer turkey burgers

What’s a burger without a great side dish? If you’re looking for a perfect complement to these Greek-style turkey burgers, look no further than my Pita Chips & Spicy Feta Dip (Tirokafteri).

The spicy feta dip would even make a perfect condiment for these air fryer turkey burgers!

And if you want to go with a classic side of French Fries, be sure to check out my Spicy Nacho Cheese French Fries or Parmesan Truffle Fries for a great pairing.

 

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